Guide rail structure for railway flat cars



W. E. OLEARY GUIDE RAIL STRUCTURE FOR RAILWAY FLAT CARS Sheet AT ToRNEYY April s, 1969 Filed Dec. 19, 1966 April 8, 1969 w O'LEARY 3,437,056

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GUIDE RAIL STRUCTURE FOR RAILWAY FLAT GARS Filed neck. 19, 196e sheet of 14 FIG. I7.

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Filed Dec. 19, 1966 April 8, 1969 w. E. oLEARY l' 3,437,056

GUIDE RAIL STRUCTURE FOR RAILWAY FLAT CARS nite States atent U.S. Cl. 105-368 12 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A railway flat car having a guide rail structure on its deck comprising guide rail sections movable between a position extending longitudinally of the car for transporting roadway vehicles and a position extending transversely of the car for supporting ladings, such as containers or lumber, on the deck. The guide rail structure includes a pair of spaced guide rails each -having a plurality of sections of a length less than the width of the deck, and means mounting the guide rail sections for movement between a position in which the sections extend longitudinally of the deck and a position in which the sections extend transversely of the deck. The at car is adapted to carry a trailer secured to a hitch when the hitch is erected and the rail sections extend longitudinally of the deck. When the hitch is collapsed and the rail sections are moved to a position extending transversely of the car, ladings, such as containers or lumber, may be positioned on and supported by the guide rails.

Background and description of invention Guide rails are employed on railway dat cars used in piggyback service to guide the roadway wheels of trailers and tractors upon movement of the trailers and tractors along the at car. Heretofore, side sills projecting above the deck of a railway flat car have for-med guiding surfaces for roadway vehicle wheels or tires. Today, especially in dat cars adapted for carrying both containers and trailers, so-called ush deck cars are being employed in which the side sills do not project substantially above the deck surface of the railway flat car. By the use of such flush deck cars, laterally movable arms of cranes or the like may be easily positioned beneath containers for loading and unloading purposes. Thus, it is necessary to have separate guide rails on such ush deck cars for guiding and centering roadway vehicles on the railway dat car.

To secure trailers in transit on the railway flat car, hitches are mounted on the deck to secure the kingpins of the trailers, and the guide rails center the trailers on the railway car deck. When other ladings, such as containers and lumber, are transported on the railway car, the hitches are moved to a collapsed position on the deck. It is highly desirable to have the lading spaced from the deck of the car so that unloading and loading equipment, such as lforklift trucks, overhead cranes and the like, may engage the underside of the ladings, such as containers. Thus, the guide rails of the present invention are adapted to be positioned to extend in a direction transversely of the car and to project from the deck a distance greater than the height of the collapsed hitches for supporting containers on the railway dat car. Laterally movable arms of cranes or the like may then be easily positioned -between the containers and the deck of the railway flat car for loading and unloading purposes.

Brieiiy described, the present invention comprises a railway flat car having a generally fiat deck, a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longitudinally generally the length of the deck and adapted to center the wheels of roadway vehicles, at least one hitch mounted on the deck between the guide rails for movement between collapsed and erect positions and adapted to engage the kingpin of a trailer to secure the trailer for transit on the railway car, each of said guide rails including a plurality of aligned rail sections each being of a length less than the width of the deck, and means mounting each rail section for movement between a position in which each section extends longitudinally of the deck and a position in which each section extends transversely of the deck, the hitch in collapsed position projecting from the deck a height not greater than the height of said rails above the deck, the flat car being adapted to carry a trailer secured to said hitch when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and Ibeing adapted to carry containers supported on the guide rail sections when the guide rail sections are positioned to extend transversely of the deck and the hitch is in a collapsed position on the deck of the railway car.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which several of various possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

FIGURES l and lA form a composite plan view of a railway flat car illustrating one embodiment of the present invention in which the guide rail structure extends longitudinally of the deck of the tlat car for guiding and centering roadway vehicles or the like on the deck;

FIGURES 2 and 2A form a composite plan view of the railway dat car illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 1A but showing the guide rail structure extending transversely of the deck for supporting ladings, such as containers;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged plan of a portion of the flat car shown in FIGURES 1-2A adjacent a trailer hitch and illustrating the movable guide rail sections adjacent the hitch;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of a guide rail section illustrating means to permit movement of a guide rail section between the positions illustrated in FIGURES 1-2A;

FIGURE 5 is a section taken generally along line 5 5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a section taken generally along line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of the at car of FIGURES 1-6 illustrating the transport of trailers secured to hitches on the dat car with the guide rail sections extending longitudinally of the car;

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic view similar to FIGURE 7 but illustrating the transport of ladings supported on the guide rails, the guide rail sections extending transversely of the deck;

FIGURES 9 and 9A form a composite plan view of a modified guide rail structure for a railway dat car in which the guide rail sections are of a length generally equal to the width of the deck and are shown extending longitudinally of the deck for the transport of trailers;

FIGURES 10 and 10A form a composite plan view of the modified guide rail structure illustrated in FIG- URES 9 and 9A with the guide rail sections extending transversely of the deck for supporting containers and the like thereon;

FIGURE 1l is a top plan of a guide rail section adjacent an end of a hitch for the embodiment of FIG- URES 9-10A and illustrating an extensible portion on each end thereof, one extensible portion being shown in a retracted position;

FIGURE l2 is a side elevation of the guide rail section adjacent an end of `a hitch shown in FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a section taken generally along line 1.3-13 of FIGURE ll;

FIGURES 14 and 14A form a composite plan view of a further modified guide rail structure on a tlat car in which the guide rails are positioned along the sides of the deck for guiding and engaging the outer surfaces of the tires on roadway vehicles and Ithe like, the guide rail sections being of a length substantially equal to the width of the deck;

FIGURES and 15A form a composite plan view of the modified guide rail structure shown in FIGURES 14, 14A but showing the guide rail sections extending transversely of the car for lsupporting containers and the like thereon;

FIGURE 16 is an enlarged fragment of FIGURE 15 illustrating the guide rail sections adjacent a hitch;

FIGURE 17 is an enlarged top plan of an extensible guide rail section adjacent the end of the hitch shown in FIGURE 16; l

FIGURE 18 is an enlarged top plan of another extensible guide rail section adjacent the hitch shown in FIG- URE 16;

FIGURES 19 and 19A form a composite top plan of an additional modified guide rail structure in which the guide rail sections are of a length substantially equal to one-half the width of the deck with the guide rail structure positioned along the outer sides of the deck; and

FIGURES 20 and 20A form a composite top plan view of the modified guide rail structure of FIGURES 19, 19A but illustrating the guide rail sections extending in a transverse direction to support containers and the like thereon.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of this invention and more particularly to the ernbodiment shown in FIGURES 1-8, a railway iiat car is generally indicated at 1t) and has a generally flat deck 12. Spaced lalong the length of deck 12 along each side thereof are a plurality of stake pockets 14 employed to secure ladings on deck 12. Mounted on deck 12 are collapsible trailer bitches 16 shown in a collapsed position. Hitches 16 are collapsible and movable between an erect position to secure the kingpin of `trailers T or the like as shown particularly in FIGURE 7 and a collapsed inoperable position as indicated in FIGURE 8. An example of a collapsible hitch 16 which may be employed is shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,225,707 dated Dec. 28, 1965, and entitled, Collapsible Support, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by this reference.

Mounted on deck 12 is the guide rail structure forming the present invention and comprising a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails 18 extending longitudinally of deck 12 as shown in FIGURES 1, 1A for guiding the wheels of roadway vehicles along deck 12. Each rail 18 comprises a plurality of adjacent guide rail sections or segments 20, 22 and 24 of different lengths as indicated in FIGURES 2 and 2A. Intermediate guide rail sections 20 are positioned at areas remote from the -sides of hitches 16 and are of a length substantially equal to onehalf the width of deck 12. Guide rail sections 22 are positioned adjacent the sides of hitches 16 and are of a length less than one-half the width of deck 12 in order to extend between bitches 16 and the sides of car 10 as shown in FIGURES 2, 2A, and 3. Each end guide rail section 24 is positioned adjacent an end of deck 12 and forms Van end of the associated guide rail 18. While guide rail sections 20, 22, 24 are of different lengths, each guide rail section is similar in operation and is mounted for movement between a guiding or centering position as shown in FIGURES 1, 1A, `and 7 in which the section extends longitudinally of deck 12 for contacting and guiding tires of roadway Vehicles, such as trailers, and a lading support position in which the section extends transversely of deck 12 for supporting containers or the like as shown in FIG- URES 2, 2A and 8. A typical intermediate section 20 is illustrated in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 and is generally channel-shaped in cross section having a support base or lower leg 26 supported on deck 12, an upwardly directed web 28 inclined at Sii, and a generally horizontal upper leg 32. Spaced along the length of section 20 are stifteners 34 secured between legs 26 and 32. A pin 36 extends through base 26 and deck 12 to mount section 2t) for pivotal movement between a guide position as illustrated in FIGURES 1, 1A and a lading support position illustrated in FIGURES 2, 2A. To releasably secure section 2@ at guide and support positions, manually operable catch pins generally indicated 38 are mounted for rotation on projections 46 secured to the end stiiteners 34. A laterally extending head 42 on each catch 38 is positioned beneath deck 12 as indicated specically in FIG- URES 5 and 6 and is adapted to be aligned with an elongate slot 44 in deck 12 for retraction of catch 38 and pivoting of guide rail section 20. A circumferential collar 46 on pin 38 rests against base 26 and limits the vertical movement of pin 38. A handle 48 on pin 38 may be gripped for manually rotating pin 3S to a locked or unlocked position. As shown in FIGURE 4, one pin 38 is ina locked position and the other pin 38 is in unlocked position.

Slots 44 as shown particularly in FIGURE 3 are provided at both the guide and supporting positions of the guide rail sections 20, 22, 24. While two catch or retaining pins 38 have been illustrated for guide rail sections 20, guide rail sections 22, 24 have only one pin 38 which is similar to the retaining pin disclosed in FIGURES 5 and 6 for guide rail section 26. To move a guide rail section between guide and supporting positions, the associated pins 38 are rotated and lifted upwardly so that heads 42 clear deck 12. Then, the associated guide rail sections may be manually rotated until pins 3S are vertically aligned with the cooperating slots 44. Then, heads 42 on pins 38 may be dropped through slots 44 and rotated to releasably secure the associated guide rail sections in position.

As shown in FIGURE 7, trailers T are secured to hitches 16 for transit on railway liat car 12 and the guide rails 1S extend longitudinally of the railway car for guiding and centering roadway vehicles on deck 12. When guide rail sections 2t), 22, 24 are pivoted to extend in a direction transversely of deck 12 as shown in FIGURES 2, 2A and 8, lading, such as containers or banded lumber L, may be supported on the guide rail sections. Suitable tie-downs may be provided and anchored to stake pockets 14 or stakes may be mounted in stake pockets 14 to limit the lateral movement of the lading supported on the guide rail sections. The height of guide rail sections Zt), 22, 24 above deck 12 is greater than the height of hitches 16 in collapsed position as shown in FIG- URE 8. Thus, the lading is supported entirely on the guide rail sections and is spaced slightly from the upper surfaces of the collapsed hitches 16 in the lading support position of the guide rail sections.

Referring to the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 9-13, guide rails 18A extend longitudinally of deck 12A in the roadway vehicle guiding position shown in FIG- URES 9, 9A and include intermediate guide rail sections 20A of a length slightly less than the width of deck 12A. Each section 211A has an arm 5t) secured thereto and extending generally perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of section 20A. Each arm 50 is mounted for pivotal movement at 52 to deck 12A vbetween the position shown in FIGURES 9, 9A and the lading support position of FIGURES 10, 10A. Referring particularly to FIGURES 1113, an extensible guide rail section is generally indicated 54 and is positioned adacent hitch 16A intermediate the length of car 19A. Releasable catch pins 33A ou sections 54 are received within slots 44A in deck 12A as in the embodiment of FIGURES l-S. Guide rail section 54 comprises an intermediate main body portion 56 and hinged end portions 5S and 6i) pivoted at 62 to main body portion 56. Releasable catch pins 38A secure end portions 58, 60 to deck 12A as shown in FIGURE 10. Section 56 is mounted at 64 for pivotal movement to the lading support position of FIGURE 10. When section 54 is pivoted about pivot 64 from its position of FIGURE 9 to its position of FIGURE 10, end portions 58, 60 are rst pivoted about pivots 62 within the open channelshaped cross section of main body portion 56 as shown in FIGURE 13. Clearance is provided between upper iiange 66 of main body portion 56 and upper flange 68 of end portions 58, 60 in the extended position thereof to permit nesting of end portions 5S, 60 within main body portion 56.

A guide rail section 7tl positioned adacent an end of railway car 10A as shown in FIGURE 10 has extensible portions 71 similar to portions 58, 6l). Guide rail sections 72 are positioned adacent hitches 16A and are of a length generally one-half the width of deck 12A. Guide rail sections 22A are positioned along each side of hitches 16A as shown in FIGURES 9-10A.

Referring to FIGURES 14-18, an additional embodiment of this invention is illustrated in which guide rails indicated generally 18B extend along the sides of deck 12B in the roadway vehicle guiding position shown in FIGURES 14, 14A. Intermediate guide rail sections 20B are of a length generally the same as the width of deck 12B. Guide rail sections 22B are positioned along each side of hitches 16B and are similar to guide rail sections 22 in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES l-S. Guide rail sections 74 adacent hitches 16B each have an extensible portion 76 pivotally mounted thereon at 78 as shown particularly in FIGURES 16 and 18. Portion 76 is received within the channel-shaped guide rail section 74 as shown in broken lines in FIGURE 18 when portion 76 is folded about pivot 78. Each guide rail section 80 adjacent intermediate hitch 16B has an extensible end portion 82 pivotally connected thereto at 84 as shown particularly in FIGURE 17. End portion 82 is folded to the broken line indication of FIGURE 17 for positioning of guide rail section Si) in a roadway vehicle centering position as shown in FIGURE 14. Guide rail sections 87 are of a length one-half the width of deck 12B. Guide rail sections 20B, 22B, 74, 80, and 87 are mounted for pivotal movement at 36B between the position illustrated in FIGURES 14, 14A and the position of FIGURES 15, A. Releasable locking pins 38B are received within deck slots 44B for securing sections 20B, 22B, 74, 8) and 87 in a manner similar to the embodiment of FIGURES 1 8.

Referring to FIGURES 19-20A, a further embodiment is illustrated in which guide rails indicated generally 18C extend along each side of deck 12C for guiding and centering roadway vehicles as illustrated in FIGURES 19, 19A. Intermediate guide rail sections 20C are of a length generally one-half the width of deck 12C. Guide rail sections 22C are mounted along each side of hitches 16C. Guide rail sections 88 adjacent hitches 16C each have extensible portions 90 pivotally connected thereto to permit folding thereof for movement from the lading support position shown in FIGURES 20, A to the roadway vehicle centering position shown in FIGURES 19, 19A. Guide rail sections 20C, 22C and 88 have retaining pins 38C adapted to t in deck slots 44C for releasably securing sections 20C, 22C and 88 in a manner similar to the embodiment of FIGURES 1 8.

All of the embodiments illustrated include a pair of guide rails mounted on the deck of a railway car, each guide rail comprising a plurality of guide rail sections mounted for pivotal movement between a position in which the sections extend longitudinally of the deck for centering or guiding the wheels of roadway vehicles and a position extending transversely of the deck for supporting lading thereon. Collapsible hitches are mounted on the deck and the guide rail sections are mounted in a manner not to interfere with the collapsed hitches when the sections are moved between the lading support and roadway vehicle centering positions.

In View of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results obtained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway fiat car 'adapted to transport either 4trailers or containers, comprising, a generally flat and even deck, a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longitudinally generally the length of the deck and adapted to `center the wheels of roadway vehicles, a pair of hitches mounted on the deck between the guide rails for movement between collapsed and erect positions and adapted to engage the kingpins of trailers to secure the trailers for transit on the railway car, each of said guide rails including a plurality of aligned rail sections each being of a length no greater than the width of the deck, means mounting each rail section on the deck for movement between a guide position in which each Section extends longitudinally of the deck and a support position in which each section extends transversely of the deck, said rail sections of each guide rail including a plurality of relatively short sections adjacent each side of the hitches being of a length less than one-half the width of the deck, said short length sections when moved to said support position extending ytransversely of the car between each side of the associated hitch and the adjacent side of the railway car, and means to releasably secure the rail sections to the deck at said positions, said hitches in collapsed position projecting from the -deck a distance not greater than the height of the rails above the deck, said flat car being adapted to carry trailers secured to said hitches when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and said hitches are in erect position thereby to center the trailers -on the deck of the railway car, said flat car being adapted to carry ladings supported on said guide rail sect-ions when said guide rail sections are in support position extending transversely -of the deck and said hitches are in collapsed position on the deck of the railway car.

2. A railway flat car as set forth in claim 1l wherein said pair of spaced guide rails are mounted on the deck at a relatively narrow spacing adapted to engage the inner surfaces of the tires on roadway vehicles moving along the deck, each guide rail section being mounted on the deck for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis between guide and support posit-ions.

3. A railway Hat car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pair of spaced guide rails extend longitudinally along the sides of the deck at a relatively large spacing adapted to engage the outer surfaces of tires on roadway vehicles moving along the deck, each guide rail section being mounted on the deck for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis between guide and support positions.

14. A railway at car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said guide rail sections remote from the hitches are of a length substantially equal to the width of the deck, each section having a main body and an arm extending at an angle from the main body and rigidly connected thereto, and means mounting the arm for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis at a position intermediate the width of the deck to move the main body between said guide and support positions.

5. A railway car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said guide rail sections remote from the hitches are of a length substantially equal to one-half the width of the deck, and means mounting each of said remote sections for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis at a position intermediate the length of each of said remote sections to move the remote sections between said guide and support positions.

`6. A railway flat car adapted to transport either trailers or containers, comprising, a generally flat and even deck, a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longitudinally generally the length of the deck and adapted to center the wheels of 4roadway vehicles, a pair ot hitches mounted on the deck between the guide rails for movement between collapsed and erect positions and adapted to engage the kingpins of trailers to secure the trailers for transit on the railway car, each of said guide rails including a plurality of aligned rail sections each being of a length no greater than the width of the deck, said rail sections being of a generally channelshaped cross section having a base supported on the deck and a generally vertical web adapted to engage the tires of roadway vehicles, means mounting each rail section on the deck for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis between a guide position in which each section extends longitudinally of the deck and a support position in which each section extends transversely of the deck, said rail sections of each guide rail including a plurality of relatively short sections adjacent each side of the hitches each being of a length less than one-half the width of the deck, said short length sections when moved to said support position extending transversely of the Car between each side of the associated hitch and the adjacent side of the railway car, and manually operable means to releasably secure the base of each rail section to the deck at said positions, said hitches in collapsed position projecting from the deck a distance not greater than the height of the rails above the deck, said tlat car being adapted to carry trailers secured to said hitches when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and said hitches are in erect position thereby to center the trailers on the deck of the railway car, said iiat car being adapted to carry ladings supported on said guide rail sections when said guide rail sections are in support position extending transversely of the deck and said hit-ches are in collapsed position on the deck of .the railway car.

7. A railway ilat car as set forth in claim 6 wherein at least one of said guide rail sections includes a longitudinally extensible portion, and means connecting said portion to said section for movement between an extended position to provide a relatively long length ra-il section and a retracted position to provide a relatively short length rail section.

8. A railway at car comprising, a deck, a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longit-udinally generally the length of the deck and projecting above the deck for centering the wheels of roadway vehicles on the deck, each of said guide rails including a plurality of elongate rail sections extending longitudinally of the deck, means mounting at least several of said rail sections of each guide rail for generally swinging movement in a predetermined path between a longitudinal position in which the sections extend longitudinally of the deck in aligned end-to-end relation to form said guide rails and transverse position in which said sections extend transversely of the deck, said mounting means restraining movement of the several movable rail sections along the deck in a direction longitudinally of the car whereby said movable sections will assume the Same aligned end-to-end relation on the deck when moved from said transverse position to said longitudinal position to form said guide rails for centering the wheels of said roadway vehicles, and means to releasably secure said movable rail sections in at least said longitudinal position to form said guide rails whereby said guide rails will not be displaced by said wheels of said roadway vehicles when providing sa-id wheel centering function, said :dat car being adapted to carry a roadway vehicle when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and adapted to carry ladings supported on said movable guide rail sections-when said movable guide rail sections are in the position extending transversely of the deck.

9. A railway flat car comprising, a deck, a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longitudinally generally, the length of the. deck and projecting above the deck for centering the wheels of roadway vehicles on the deck, at least one hitch mounted on the deck between the guide rails for movement between collapsed and erect positions and adapted to engage the kingpin of a trailer to secure the trailer for transit on the railway car, said hitch in collapsed position projecting above the deck a distance not greater than the height of the guide rails above the deck, each of said guide rails including a plurality of elongate rail sections extending longitudinally of the deck, means mounting at least several of said rail sections of each guide'rail for generally swinging movement in a predetermined path between a longitudinal position in which the sections extend longitudinally of the deck in aligned end-to-end relation to form said guide rails and a transverse position in which said sections extend transversely of the deck, said mounting means restraining movement of the several movable rail sections along the deck in a direction longitudinally of the car whereby said movable sections will assume the same aligned end-to-end relation on the neck when moved from said transverse position to said longitudinal position to form said guide rails for centering the wheels of said roadway vehicles, and means to releasably secure said movable rail sections in at least said longitudinal position to form said guide rails whereby said guide rails will not be displaced by said wheels of said roadway vehicles when providing said wheel centering function, said flat car being adapted to carry a trailer secured to said hitch when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and said hitch is in erect position, said at car being adapted to carry ladings supported on said movable guide rail sections when said movable guide rail sections are in the position extending transversely of the deck and the hitch is in collapsed position.

10. A railway at car comprising, a deck, a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longitudinally generally the length of the deck and projecting above the deck for centering the wheels of roadway vehicles on the deck, each of said guide rails including a plurality of elongate rail sections extending longitudinally of the deck, means mounting at least several adjacent rail sections of each guide rail for generally horizontal swinging movement about a generally fixed vertical axis in a predetermined path between a longitudinal position in which the sections extend longitudinally of the deck in aligned endto-end relation to form the guide rails and a transverse position in which the sections extend transversely of the deck, the distance between the vertical axes of the movable adjacent rail sections being substantially equal to the length of the movable rail sections with the movable rail sections being of substantially the same length, said mounting means restraining movement of the several movable guide rail sections along the deck in a direction longitudinally of the car whereby said movable sections will assume said aligned end-to-end relation when moved from said transverse position to said longitudinal position to form said guide rails for centering the wheels of said road- -way vehicles, and means to releasably secure said movable rail sections in at least said longitudinal position to form said guide rails whereby said guide rails will not be displaced by said wheels of said roadway vehicles when providing said Iwheel centering function, said dat car being adapted to carry a roadway vehicle when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and adapted to carry ladings supported on said movable guide rail sections when said movable guide rail sections are in the position extending transversely of the deck.

11. A railway ilat car comprising, a deck, a plurality of elongate rail sections on the deck, means for arranging all rail sections on the deck into a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longitudinally along substantially the entire length of the deck and projecting above the deck for centering the wheels of roadway vehicles on the deck and permitting vehicles to move along the entire deck to reach an adjacent car, said means for arranging all rail sections into a pair of guide rails including means mounting at least several of said rail sections of each guide rail for generally swinging movement in a predetermined path between a longitudinal position in which the sections extend longitudinally of the deck in aligned end-to-end relation to form said guide rails and a transverse position in which said sections extend transversely of the deck, said mounting means restraining movement of the several movable rail sections along the deck in a direction longitudinally of the car whereby said movable sections will assume the same aligned end-to-end relation on the deck when moved from said transverse position to said longitudinal position to form said guide rails for centering the wheels of said roadway vehicles, and means to releasably secure said movable rail sections in at least said longitudinal position to form said guide rails whereby said guide rails will not be displaced by said wheels of said roadway vehicles when providing said wheel centering function, said dat car being adapted to carry a roadway vehicle when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and adapted to carry ladings supported on said movable guide rail sections when said movable guide rail sections are in the position extending transversely of the deck.

12. A railway at car comprising, a deck, a plurality of elongate rail sections on the deck, means for arranging all rail sections on the deck into a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rails extending longitudinally along substantially the entire length of the deck and projecting above the deck for centering the wheels of roadway vehicles on the deck and permitting the vehicles to move along the entire deck to reach an adjacent car, at least one hitch mounted on the deck between the guide rails for movement between collapsed and erect positions and adapted to engage the kindpin of a trailer to secure the trailer -for transit on the railway car, said hitch in collapsed position projecting above the deck a distance not greater than the height of the guide rails above the deck,

said means for arranging all rail sections into a pair of guide rails including means mounting at least several adjacent rail sections of each guide rail for generally horizontal swinging movement about a generally xed vertical axis in a predetermined path between a longitudinal position in which the sections extend longitudinally of the deck in aligned end-to-end relation to form the guide rails and a transverse position in which the sections extend transversely of the deck, the distance between the vertical axes of the movable adjacent rail sections being substantially equal to the length of the movable rail sections, said mounting means restraining movement of the several movable guide rail sections along the deck in a direction longitudinally of the car whereby said movable sections will assume the same aligned end-to-end relation on the deck when moved from said transverse position to said longitudinal position to form said guide rails for centering the wheels of said roadway vehicles, and means to releasably secure said movable rail sections in at least said longitudinal position to form said guide rails whereby said guide rails will not be displaced by said wheels of said roadway vehicles when providing said wheel centering function, siad fiat car being adapted to carry a trailer secured to said hitch when said rail sections extend longitudinally of the car and said hitch is in erect position, said flat car being adapted to carry ladings supported on said movable guide rail sections when said movable guide rail sections are in the position extending transversely of the deck and the hitch is in collapsed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,837,038 6/ 1958 Fahland 10S- 368 3,041,028 6/ 1962 McDowell 248--119 3,092,044 6/ 1963 Reed 10S-369 DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

